Leonardo Momento Magico - Anima Nera

[Recursion]

I'm not unfamiliar with this brand, as I already have a Momento Zero (green Alga), which I really like. Not only for its looks but is writes quite comfortable (after some tuning). As I dislike filling pens often, when I saw there was a piston filler that piqued my interest. The formfactor closely resembles the Momento Zero with some differences. 

 

So, the facts:
Manufacturer:       Leonardo Officina Italiana
Model:                   Momento Magico - Anima Nera
Material:                Matte black resin
Nib:                        Jowo #6 steel (EF) - unit
Filling system:      Piston filler (+/- 1,5ml)
Capped:                145 mm
Uncapped:           133 mm
Posted:                 169 mm
Section:                10,8 - 11 mm
______________________________________________________________________
Appearance & Design – Lovely as always
The appearance of the pen is typical for Leonardo. The matte black finish of the resin in combination with the silver trimmings gives it an understated and luxurious look. The cap band has a nice design, and you can se the underlaying material through the cut-outs. The barrel tapers a bit towards the ink window, and this gives it a bit of an unbalanced appearance to me. I was expecting that the large ink window would bother me, but actually if the pen is filled you hardly notice it, so that’s a plus. 

 

Construction & Quality – Good, as expected
The construction and build quality of the pen is good, as I expect from a Leonardo and a higher priced pen. The Matte finish has a silky feel to it. The treads are unintrusive and the pen uncaps in just under 1 turn. The clip is excellent and functions great, I really came to love wheeled clips.

 

Weight & Dimensions – Good size and lightweight
As I don’t own a scale, I can’t weight the pen. But it feels a bit lighter to me that the Momento Zero. The length of the pen (uncapped) is perfect for my hands and slightly bigger than the Momento Zero. When posted it is slightly back weighted, but still very comfortable to write with. The ergonomics of the section fit’s me better than the Momento Zero although it could do with a bit more girt for my taste. As stated before, the slight tapering of the barrel towards the ink window gives it a bit of an unbalanced appearance to me.

Nib & Performance – A misaligned Jowo
The #6 Jowo nib the pen comes with is misaligned and out of the box (after cleaning) it has hard starts or simply refuses to write at all. This is quite a disappointment considering the price of the pen. After some tuning and aligning the tines, the pen performs great and has a nice juicy ink flow. After the tuning the extra fine nib writes more like a western fine (or a Japanese medium), I clearly must do some more work on the nib. 

 

Filling System & Maintenance - Classic piston filler
The piston filling system works well and has a advertised capacity of 1,5 ml. It’s easy to fill it almost to the max. As all piston fillers cleaning can be a bit of a challenge and is time consuming. But these is a tool available to take the piston apart and that makes cleaning and maintenance easy. The Jowo nib unit can be removed easily. So, for those OCD cleaning freaks out there, you can get this pen as clean as it arrived in the box

 

Cost & Value – No “bang for your buck” pen
For a pen of € 199,- it’s very disappointing that you receive a pen that does not write out of the box and has misaligned tines. But that aside, it’s a nice pen to write with (after tuning) the lightweight pen is great for longer writing sessions especially with the larger ink capacity. 

 

Conclusion – Do it yourself nib on a lovely pen.
All in all, the Leonardo Momeno Magico is a lovely pen if you are willing to do some work with the nib. For this price range of pens, I expect the nibs to perform perfect out of the box. The formfactor of the pen is great and the understated matte finish with silver trims makes it a great notetaker during meetings. The cap comes of just under 1 turn so that is ideal for quick note taking. 
 

 

 

 

[Jamerelbe]

Hi @Recursion, I don't know where you bought this pen from - and therefore am not sure how realistic this suggestion is - but have you at least *tried* contacting the retailer to let them know the nib was problematic?  Given the price of these pens, you *shouldn't* have to be doing your own nib work, the replacement should be covered under warranty.  

Glad to hear you're now happy with the pen, either way - and thanks for the great pictures and review!

[Recursion]

Hi @Jamerelbe The thing is that I bought this with gift cards via Amazon (I know, I know) in an Italian shop and sending the pen back and waiting for it to return takes me too long (Yes, I’m an inpatient boy  ). Normally I try to buy all my pens in local brick and mortar stores (or via their website). But tuning and aligning nibs is no problem for me (it was a 10-minute job), but potential buyers should be aware of the potential issue.
And also the retailer should receive perfectly aligned nibs out of the Leonardo workshop, so it's not the retailers fault imho,  but that aside.

[senzen]

Thanks for this presentation, it's a nice looking pen; just beyond my max budget for pens but still nice.